retrofit top loading kiln lid

updated thu 25 nov 10

J Motzkin on sun 21 nov 10

Hello all,
I am fixing up my electric kiln and have to recreate the kiln/lid hinge
thing.
(What was there before was pulling the metal skin off the bricks of the top
ring...another story).
So what's to do: hinge, chains, counterweights, springs, support elbow??
Anybody love theirs?
Where to find parts?
Gotta do this soon, too damn independent to be asking for help lifting the
lid.
Thanks.
JM

Vince Pitelka on sun 21 nov 10

Judy Motzkin wrote:
"I am fixing up my electric kiln and have to recreate the kiln/lid hinge
thing. (What was there before was pulling the metal skin off the bricks of
the top ring...another story). So what's to do: hinge, chains,
counterweights, springs, support elbow?? Anybody love theirs? Where to find
parts? Gotta do this soon, too damn independent to be asking for help
lifting the lid."

Judy -
Last year on our oldest L&L e23T toploader, the clamps on the lid strap
broke and the hinge failed, and the dropped a small distance against the
kiln and developed serious cracks. The kiln was otherwise still in good
shape, so we contacted L&L and ordered a new clamp band and the latest mode=
l
of their hinge/spring assembly, and it is a thing of beauty. We patched
the lid back together and installed the new hinge assembly, and you can ope=
n
or close the lid with one finger, with no effort at all. You can see a
picture of this hinge assembly at www.hotkilns.com/spring-hinge. Note that
it has a very stout support member that passes across the lid from back to
front and supports the front edge of the lid. This means that you are not
tending to flex the lid when you open and close it. Also, the front end of
this support member incorporates a very heavy-duty handle, rather than
having a handle attached to the clamp band around the lid.

It is important to also point out that all of the critical parts of this li=
d
hinge assembly are stainless steel, and all of the sheet-metal screws they
provided for installation were stainless steel.

Unless you or someone you know has advanced fabricating skills and can work
with stainless steel, you would be far better off to buy the best and lates=
t
kiln/lid-support mechanism provided by your kiln manufacturer.
- Vince

paul gerhold on mon 22 nov 10

Judy,

Check the archives. Inexpensive solutions have been discussed before. My
old L&L has a piece of the band that goes under the front bricks to keep th=
e
band from pulling off the brick. Also consider putting several hose clamps
together to secure the hinge system around the kiln and around the lid. Go
to dealers and check out what is being used currently on kilns and then
design your own.

Paul

J Motzkin on mon 22 nov 10

Vince, I had previously replaced the hinges that came with the kiln with a
Paragon Lite Lid lifter when it first came out. It seems to be the cause of
the current problem.
The large bracket that attaches with many screws to the kiln body pulled th=
e
metal jacket down and put torque on the top ring when it was open,
eventually causing damage to the brick.
I have now replaced the top ring and dare not put the same lite lid assembl=
y
back on. I think it is similar to the L&L version.
I cannot ask the kiln manufacturer, as he is long out of business (Norman).
Another issue is that the kiln design has a layer of fiber between the bric=
k
and the metal jacket so the fit of the metal has loosened with fiber
compression.

I dream of a lid suspended above the kiln, counterweighted and lowered onto
the kiln.
j

Judy Motzkin wrote:
"I am fixing up my electric kiln and have to recreate the kiln/lid hinge
thing. (What was there before was pulling the metal skin off the bricks of
the top ring...another story). So what's to do: hinge, chains,
counterweights, springs, support elbow?? Anybody love theirs? Where to find
....

Last year on our oldest L&L e23T toploader, the clamps on the lid strap
broke and the hinge failed, and the dropped a small distance against the
kiln and developed serious cracks. The kiln was otherwise still in good
shape, so we contacted L&L and ordered a new clamp band and the latest mode=
l
of their hinge/spring assembly, and it is a thing of beauty. We patched
the lid back together and installed the new hinge assembly, and you can ope=
n
or close the lid with one finger, with no effort at all. You can see a
picture of this hinge assembly at www.hotkilns.com/spring-hinge. Note that
judy motzkin studio
7 tufts street
cambridge MA 02139
617-547-5513
www.motzkin.com

Vince Pitelka on mon 22 nov 10

Judy Motzkin wrote:
"The large bracket that attaches with many screws to the kiln body pulled
the metal jacket down and put torque on the top ring when it was open,
eventually causing damage to the brick. I have now replaced the top ring an=
d
dare not put the same lite lid assembly back on. I think it is similar to
the L&L version. I cannot ask the kiln manufacturer, as he is long out of
business (Norman). Another issue is that the kiln design has a layer of
fiber between the brick and the metal jacket so the fit of the metal has
loosened with fiber compression."

Hi Judy -
The L&L hinge/spring-counterweight design is not the same at all. As you
can see in the image on the L&L website at www.hotkilns.com/spring-hinge,
the support bracket is the same height as the kiln, and screws into all
three segments. That's one of the main things that I like about this desig=
n
- it does not pull down on the shell of the top ring.

Regarding the loosened kiln jackets, I am not familiar with the Norman
design, but almost all kilns have adjustable screw-clamps that allow you to
tighten the jacket around the refractory. That would compress the fiber
refractory a little, but it might be necessary in order to firm things up.
If the screw clamps (essentially just automotive hose-clamps modified for
this application) are frozen from corrosion, it is not hard to drill out th=
e
pop-rivets or spot-welds and pop-rivet new ones onto the kiln jacket. You
just buy screw-type stainless steel automotive hose clamps and cut them in
half with tin snips, drill appropriate holes in the clamps and correspondin=
g
holes in the ends of the kiln jacket in the same locations as the original
clamps.

William & Susan Schran User on tue 23 nov 10

On 11/22/10 1:06 PM, "J Motzkin" wrote:

> I dream of a lid suspended above the kiln, counterweighted and lowered on=
to
> the kiln.

Judy,
A quick search online resulted in this:
http://www.warmtips.com/20060829.htm
It is an instruction about building a pulley system for larger/heavy top
loading kiln lids.
It is on the "Warm Glass" site.
This article addresses the lid still attached to the kiln.

If you want the lid to come straight up off the kiln, then you'll probably
need a fairly high ceiling to give you enough clearance for loading.

J Motzkin on wed 24 nov 10

Hi Bill,
My issue is not the weight of the lid, but the need for a new hinge that
will not damage the kiln. I have a vent-a-kiln on a pulley and cable above
the kiln.
Thanks,
J

Judy,
A quick search online resulted in this:
http://www.warmtips.com/20060829.htm
It is an instruction about building a pulley system for larger/heavy top
loading kiln lids.
It is on the "Warm Glass" site.
This article addresses the lid still attached to the kiln.